Through its Tourism and Investment Promotion Authority (TIPA) headed
by President Qadhafi's daughter Aicha, Libya is spending $2 billion on
infrastructure and facilities to attract one million tourist visitors
to the country by 2005. This should not be an impossible task when one
considers what the country has to offer in terms of long stretches of
unexplored coastline, beautiful landscapes and numerous ancient Roman
sites; access to which can at present be provided via the country's
four international airports at Tripoli, Tobruk, Sirte and Benghazi.
Major construction projects can be anticipated as the authority seeks
to build a series of new hotels throughout the country to meet an
officially estimated 60,000 bed shortfall in accommodation. In
addition to hotel building, TIPA wants to attract international
developers to enter into joint ventures projects at nine separate
locations to construct a range of tourist facilities. The unspoilt
greenfield sites chosen for their historic, archaeological and natural
beauty, are to be aimed at the sophisticated visitor with specialist
interests.
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